I Dreamed A Dream
by Broadwaylover4life
Summary: When Rachel's fathers meet an untimely death in a tragic car accident, who is left to pick up the pieces? A bit AU. Quinn and Santana are nice to Rachel, Quinn never had her accident, and Shelby never adopted Beth. Don't read if you ship Finchel.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! So, I know you were probably all waiting for an update on Trust, but I found this saved on my computer and I really wanted to post it. I have posted it before, but I took it down because I didn't like where it was going, but I have a new idea with it. So, please don't read if you like Finchel! Fair warning, there will be character death as well as some other issues, which is why it's rated T. Shelby never adopted Beth, Quinn never had her car accident. Set around the 'I Kissed A Girl' episode. Shelby doesn't coach the TroubleTones. Please read and review! Enjoy!

Rachel sighed as she pulled her pink bedazzled phone out of her locker after lunch. Her fathers were supposed to text her as soon as they got to Chicago, and they should have been there hours ago. Now she was getting worried. Shutting her locker, she looked up to see Finn heading her way, a freezing cold slushy in his hand.

"Hey Finn! What's up?" she asked him in a fake cheery voice. He just kept walking towards her, his face a blank slate. Now only a foot away from the petite girl, his mouth moved into a wicked grin. She didn't like that look. He raised his arm, and before she could react, threw the frozen cherry ice pellets at her. It splattered on her face, stinging like needles.

"Wh…What was that for?" Rachel spluttered as the cherry slushy dripped down onto her white dress, staining it in the process.

"You know what you did." Was all Finn said. He turned then, and walked away down the hall, his head held high as if he had just preformed a noble act of kindness. Rachel sank to the floor head in her hands. The tears fell from her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. She sat like that for a few minutes, not caring that her dress was probably now permanently stained.

"Rachel? Are…are you okay?" a voice asked her. Rachel looked up to see Quinn standing in front of her, her hazel eyes full of concern. "Who slushied you?" Quinn exclaimed, noticing the red stain.

"Finn did it." Rachel whispered, getting up off the floor. Quinn gasped. Finn had never slushied anyone, let alone Rachel.

"Well come on. It's almost time for class. I'll help you get cleaned up. Then I'll go and kick his ass." Quinn sneered, taking the brunette's hand and leading her to the bathroom. Rachel laughed at the last comment.

Once in the bathroom, Quinn helped Rachel wipe off the slushy, and tried to get the red stain out of the front of the dress, which was no easy task.

"Just forget about it Quinn. We have to get to class. I only have half a day left." Rachel said with a smile as she pulled on the stained dress. Quinn zipped it up and turned Rachel to face her.

"Are you sure you're okay Rachel?" Quinn asked, starring at the shorter girl with sympathetic eyes. Just then burst into the bathroom, her chest heaving as if she had been running.

"Rachel, I need to see you in my office right away." She gasped. Rachel gave Quinn one last nod, and followed the red head out of the bathroom, leaving the ex-Cheerio alone. As Rachel followed Emma down the hall, she got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Something was not right. Not right at all.

To be continued…

A/N: I promise I'll post an update today or tomorrow! Sorry it's so short, but I want to see how people respond. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys! So, just as a note, Rachel is 16 years old. And also, I DO NOT IN ANWAY, SHAPE OR FORM OWN THE RIGHTS TO GLEE. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO RYAN MURPHY/ THE CAST. Enjoy! Please review!

As Rachel followed the guidance counselor down the hall, a sick feeling began settling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. Very wrong. But what? She had admitted to stuffing the ballot box, and she had served her time. No, that couldn't be it. Judging by the feeling now permanently lodged in the bottom of her stomach, it was way worse than stuffing a ballot box.

When she walked in to the small office, she was met with the grim faces of and none other, than Shelby Corcoran.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked nervously glancing at Shelby and Will. Shelby looked at her daughter with sympathetic eyes. The knot in Rachel's stomach just about doubled in size.

"Rachel, I think you should take a seat." Will said sadly. Rachel sat down on the chair Emma offered her, not willing to fight with him. Shelby and Will sat down in seats across from the diva.

Shelby took a deep breath. "There's really no easy way to say this Rachel…but your dads….they…"Shelby tried to say but couldn't finish. Will rested his hand on her shoulder as Shelby choked back tears.

"Your dads died in a car crash on their way to Chicago, Rachel. I'm so sorry." Emma said, being the brave one for once in her life. Rachel just sat there, starring at the 3 adults with confused eyes. She thought they were joking. They HAD to be joking. There was no way her dads were dead. She just saw them this morning. But looking at their solemn faces, the realization finely started to sink in. Tears sprang to her eyes for the second time that day. Rachel leapt from her seat and tore out of the room, not caring about the three others.

The teachers sat in the room in silence for a unsure of what to say.

"I suppose I should go and find her." Will whispered, standing up to leave.

"No. I'm her mother, I'll go get her." Shelby almost yelled, stepping in front of Will and heading towards the door, practically pushing the other teacher out of the way.

"Try the choir room" Will called after her. Shelby shook her head as she walked away down to the hall towards the auditorium. She may have left her three times (which Shelby internally kicked herself for at least once a day), but she knew her daughter. Rachel would want to go somewhere private, even though classes were in session. The choir room was too public for the on-coming diva meltdown Rachel was about to have.

As she pushed open the auditorium door, Shelby saw the crumpled heap of a girl lying on the stage, shaking with huge sobs. The sight brought tears to Shelby's eyes. The poor girl. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of this. When the lawyers had called Shelby, she thought they were joking. Surely the Berry men couldn't be dead. But they were. They were gone, and now all the little diva had was her mom.

"Oh, Rachel." Shelby whispered, rushing down the aisle and onto the stage, her heels clacking in the silent auditorium. She fell to the ground next to her daughter and soothingly rubbed circles on her back.

The two divas sat like that for almost half an hour, Rachel's petite body shaking with huge sobs. Shelby held her close, whispering soothing words into the heartbroken girl's ear. She wished she could do more, but alas, she was stuck. Finally, Rachel's heaving sobs turned into a quiet sniffle. Rachel looked up from the stage and turned towards her mother.

"What am I going to do Mommy? Where am I going to go?" Rachel cried, not realizing she had called Shelby mommy for the first time ever. It took all of Shelby's will power to not burst into tears at the sight of the girl in front of her. Rachel's eyes were swollen and red, mascara running down her cheeks. Her nose was red, just like Shelby's was when she cried. And probably the worst part was the fact that Rachel was looking at her as if she were a cruel master and Rachel was a puppy, praying not to get beaten.

"You're going to come home with me. I've got an extra bedroom that should do for now." Shelby whispered, pulling her daughter into a hug.

"Okay. Can we go home now?" Rachel whispered.

"Of course. Go get your bag and I'll talk to Figgins." Shelby said, helping Rachel up off the stage and walking out of the auditorium with her.

Twenty minutes later Rachel was sitting in the passenger seat of Shelby's car, starring longingly out the window. The drive to Shelby's house wasn't very long, but it seemed like an eternity to the both of them. When they arrived at Shelby's small, 2-bedroom home, Shelby lead Rachel into the small home, carrying her bag. Rachel didn't know exactly what she expected to see, but the house was the complete opposite. Everything was in it's place, and there was almost no evidence that anyone lived there.

"Come on Rach. This can be your room for now." Shelby whispered soothingly, leading Rachel down a hall to a closed door. Behind the door was a simple baby blue room, with a double bed covered in a light blue quilt. "Do you want to be alone, or…." Shelby trailed off.

"No, please stay." Rachel said, laying down on the bed. She began to cry again. Shelby sighed, and laid down behind her, pulling her close. The warmth of her mother helped comfort Rachel, and she cried herself to sleep, her mother never letting her go.

To be continued….

A/N: Okay, so I know it's a sort of cheesy ending, but hey, I'm tired. So, just to let you know, Rachel has not forgiven Shelby for what she has done, she's just really upset and wants someone to be there for her. Don't worry, there will be a blow up down the road. So, please review, and I'll try and get the next chapter up by Monday!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I am soo sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I have had terrible writers block, and I just started high school so I've had a lot of homework. So, I promise I will update more often from now on. And to clear a few things up, no, there isn't a Beth in this story, and it will eventually turn into a Faberry story as well, so if you don't like them, don't read it. Thank you for all the reviews! Enjoy!

Rachel POV

The next morning, Rachel woke with a jolt, her empty stomach aching and her head throbbing. Slowly, as to not wake Shelby, Rachel eased herself out of the bed and tiptoed down the hallway, trying to find that bathroom that she remembered seeing last night. With a sigh, she walked into the dark room, closing the door and flicking on the light. The reflection in the mirror made her jump. To tell the truth, she looked like, well, shit. Rachel Berry hardly ever swore, but there really wasn't any other way of describing her reflection.

Her face was red and blotchy, her eyes puffy and makeup free. Her hair was matted in many places, and that big pink stain from the slushy was even bigger than yesterday. She sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Shelby POV

Shelby Corcoran woke suddenly the next morning, feeling the cold, empty side of the bed where Rachel was last night. She practically flew out of bed to try and find her daughter, which apparently was way too fast, as all the blood rushed to her head and she tipped backwards. She sighed when she heard the toilet flush. She was just in the bathroom.

Slowly this time, Shelby rose from the bed and walked in to her room to change out of the purple dress she had been wearing since yesterday. She pulled on a pair of jeans and an old NYU t-shirt, throwing her hair back into a ponytail. There was no way she was going to work today. Not with Rachel here.

As she walked into the kitchen, she put on a pot of coffee. She was going to need about 5 cups after what happened yesterday. Rachel slowly walked into the kitchen, finding Shelby standing by the sink. Shelby took in the sight of her daughter. Had that stain always been there?

"Rachel! You're up! Where did that big stain come form?" Shelby asked Rachel as she sat down at the table. Rachel looked at her feet.

"Finn" Rachel said quietly. Shelby didn't know what to say to this. Last time Shelby had seen Rachel, that boy was all she could talk about.

"Why did Finn do it?" Shelby asked her daughter.

"Like you care." She muttered.

"Excuse me? What did you just say to me?" Shelby asked, taken aback.

"I said, like you care. And why would you? You left me three times." Rachel said louder, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now wait a minute, Rachel. Just because your fathers are dead doesn't mean that you can-" Shelby was cut off.

"Exactly! You don't care! You left me three times! When I needed you the most, you weren't there! When I was 5, and all the kids made mother's day cards at school, I couldn't, because I didn't have a mother! And when I was 8, and I got bullied at school because I had two gay dads. I would go home crying, praying for my mommy to show up, but it never happened. And when I was 13 and I had to have 'the talk' with my fathers. I needed my mother there, if you can guess why I had to have that talk, but all I had was my dads, and now I don't even have them! You left me when I was a baby. You left me during Gaga week. And just this year, you show up, saying you want to make things good between us. I saw you twice. You. Left. Me. So you don't get to tell me what I can and can't say!" Rachel yelled at Shelby. And with that, she turned on her heel and ran back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her and throwing herself on to the bed.

Shelby just stood in the kitchen for a moment. She wanted to yell at Rachel for accusing her of those things, like she would have with her Vocal Adrenaline kids last year. But the more she thought about it, the more Rachel's words stuck in her head. What Rachel had said was the truth. Shelby had left her three times. She regretted not being there for so many of Rachel's major milestones.

After about 5 minutes, Shelby decided that it was time to go and talk to her heart broken daughter. Slowly, she pushed open the bedroom door and found the girl lying on the bed, her head under the pillow.

"Rachel? Can I come in?" Shelby whispered. Rachel nodded and sat up, wiping underneath her eyes. Shelby slowly walked over and sat down on the bed next to Rachel. Rachel took hold of Shelby's hand.

"I'm sorry I said those things to you Shelby. I didn't mean them. I...I was just so upset..." Rachel cried. Shelby pulled her daughter into her, hugging her tightly.

" Yes you did Rachel. You meant what you said. But it's okay. You're right. I did leave you, and I am so sorry for not being there honey. I'm sorry for not being there for you on mothers day, and when the kids bullied you. I'm sorry for not being there for your first kiss, and I am really sorry for you having to have the talk from your fathers. I've regretted giving you up from the moment I saw you, that day you were born in the hospital. I am so sorry Rachel. But I promise you, I will never leave you again. Alright?" Shelby told her daughter. Rachel held on tightly to Shelby.

"I love you mom" Rachel whispered in to her mother's neck.

"I love you too baby. Now, let's get you some of my clothes and we'll go out for breakfast. I don't think I have a lot in the way of vegan friendly food." Shelby told Rachel. Rachel nodded and followed her mother out the door, down the hallway in to Shelby's room. When Shelby pushed open the door, it took Rachel's breath away. The light purplish-grey walls were painted with beautiful flowers, and hanging above Shelby's bed, were two pictures of Rachel; one taken when she was singing 'Don't Rain On My Parade' at sectional's two years ago, and the other of Rachel and Shelby after the year they lost regional's. Rachel couldn't believe that she had kept those pictures the whole time.

Shelby walked in to her closet and pulled a dark blue wrap dress off of a hanger. The dress was her sister's, and it was too small for Shelby. Her sister was about the same size as Rachel.

"Here Rach. You can wear this. It's too small for me, but it should fit you." Shelby said, passing the dress to her daughter.

"Can you help me unzip this one, Shelby?" Rachel asked, turning around and lifting up her hair. Shelby walked forward and slowly unzipped the white dress.

"You never told me where that stain on your dress came from Rachel." Shelby asked her daughter, turning around to face the window as Rachel slipped on the other dress.

"Yes I did. I told you, Finn did it." Rachel answered, pulling the blue dress over her head. "You can turn around now."

"Why did he slushy you Rachel? I thought you and him were going out?" Shelby asked. Rachel looked down at her feet.

"We were. But he, he caught me, he caught me kissing someone else." Rachel whispered, not looking her mother in the face. Great. She thought. Now Shelby's going to think I'm a slut and I'm going to end up in foster care.

"Who did you kiss?" Shelby asked her daughter, now very interested. Why would her daughter cheat on someone?

"I...I kissed Quinn Fabray." Rachel muttered, looking at her feet.

A/N: And there you have it folks, chapter 3. I know I'm evil for leaving a cliff hanger! I promise I'll have an update by Friday, hopefully sooner. Please don't forget to leave your reviews! Thanks for all the love!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and favourites guys! So, here's the continuation of my horrible cliff hanger. This chapter probably won't be very long, because it's kind of a filler to go between the last one and the next one. So, here it is! Enjoy!

"I…I kissed Quinn Fabray." Rachel whispered, looking at her feet. Then, she burst into tears. "Shelby, please don't hate me. I told Finn it was over, but he didn't believe me." Rachel cried, still refusing to look her mother in the eyes.

Shelby just stood there for a moment, her mind trying to wrap around the situation. Okay, so Rachel was dating Finn. She told Finn it was over, because she liked Quinn. He didn't believe her. He saw her kiss Quinn. Then he slushied her. Alright. She was up to speed now. But, why would Rachel think that she would hate her? Because she cheated on Finn, or the fact that it was with a girl?

"Oh honey. I could never hate you." Shelby whispered, pulling Rachel into a hug. Rachel wrapped her arms around her mother, and cried even harder.

"Look Rachel. I don't care if you like boys, or girls, or both. All that I care about is you being happy. And if you think that I'm going to be mad at you for kissing Quinn while you were still technically going out with Finn, I'm not. You told him you guys were over. It's not cheating. Please honey, just look at me." Shelby whispered into her hair.

Slowly, Rachel looked at up at her mother. Shelby almost cried out when she saw how upset Rachel was. Tears still fell freely from her eyes. The sight pained Shelby. Her beautiful daughter was now not only upset about her fathers dying, she was also upset about the fact that she kissed Quinn.

"Rachel, listen to me. I don't care if you like girls. That's what you're upset about, isn't it?" Shelby asked the heart broken girl. Rachel looked at her mother for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse. But she couldn't. She was just too tired of hiding it. She rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Slowly, she nodded.

"Yes. I, I like girls. I like Quinn. Not Finn." Rachel whispered in to her mother's shoulder. Shelby held on to Rachel tightly, resting her chin on top of her head. Rachel held on just as tightly, praying that Shelby really was okay with this.

After about five minutes, Shelby leaned down to Rachel's ear.

"Thank you for telling me honey." Shelby whispered. "Now, do you still want to go out for breakfast, or would you like to stay home?" she continued. Rachel looked up.

"We can go out. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning." Rachel told her mother, wiping away her tears. Shelby nodded.

"Alright. Well, let's get you cleaned up, and then we'll go get you something to eat." Shelby said, grabbing her daughter's hand and leading her out in to the hallway. She led her in to the bathroom, flicking on the light. Rachel almost jumped , once again, at her reflection in the mirror. She looked even worse this time.

Shelby reached for a wash cloth and ran it under the cool water. The doorbell rang as she shut the water off.

"Here Rach. Hold this to your eyes. It should help the swelling go down. I'll go get rid of whoever's here." Shelby said, passing her daughter the wash cloth. She quickly walked to the front door and almost fell over when she saw who was standing there.

It was none other than Quinn Fabray. She had a sort of guilty look on her face, and Shelby knew exactly why.

"Hi, hi Shelby. Is Rachel here?" Quinn asked her. Shelby nodded.

"Yes, she is, but I'm not sure if she's up to seeing anyone. She's pretty upset." Shelby told the blonde girl. Quinn sighed.

"She told you, didn't she?" Quinn asked the older woman. Shelby slowly nodded.

"Yes, she did. But that's not why I don't want to let you in the house. She actually is really upset." Shelby explained to Quinn. Quinn nodded, just as Rachel walked in to the front room. The wash cloth was in her hand, but it had helped. Her eyes were still kind of pink, but the swelling on her face had gone down quite a bit.

"Quinn? What are you doing here?" Rachel asked the girl on the front porch.

"I heard about what happened Rachel. told us yesterday in glee. I'm so sorry Rach." Quinn explained. Sighing, Shelby moved out of the way so Rachel could talk to her friend- or, well girl friend, maybe. To tell the truth, Shelby had no idea what they were.

Rachel seemed surprised for a moment, and then she fell into the blonde girls arms. She didn't cry, she just stood there and held her close for a moment. When Rachel let go, Shelby had returned to the living room and was now sitting on the couch.

"Thank you for coming Quinn. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Rachel whispered. Quinn nodded, and with one last peck on the cheek, walked down the driveway. Once Rachel had closed the door, Shelby stood up.

"So, are you two, friends, or more then that?" Shelby asked Rachel.

A/N: There you have it! Chapter 4! I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review!


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